Published: June 16, 2020

Artimus Robotics, a robotics spinout company of CU Boulder’s Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering, recently received $225,000 through the National Science Foundation’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I program. This award will enable further research into the unique electromechanical failure mechanism in HASEL actuators, a new class of smart, soft, high-speed robotic hardware. In doing so, the reliability, robustness and efficiency of these actuators can be improved and more widely adopted across highly demanding applications, including industrial automation or underwater marine robotics.

Artimus Robotics was co-founded by multiple researchers and alumni from Rady Mechanical Engineering at CU Boulder. The team includes Assistant Professor Christoph Keplinger, Tim Morrissey (PhDMechEngr’19), Eric Acome (PhDMechEngr’20), and soon-to-graduate PhD students Nicholas Kellaris and Shane Mitchell.

The team has worked with Venture Partners at CU Boulder for X years and officially launched the company in 2018. To do so, they participated in several Venture Partners and Innovation & Entrerpeneurship programs to gain entrepreneurial education and accelerate their business:

  • Research-to-Market (R2M) — a customer discovery program that helps innovators create go-to-market strategies for technologies
  • Lab Venture Challenge — a funding competition and program that funds CU Boulder's top innovations addressing a commercial need, with a clear path to a compelling market and strong scientific support (awarded $125,000)
  • New Venture Challenge — CU Boulder's premier, cross-campus, entrepreneurial competition (awarded $25,000)
  • Catalyze CU — a summer-long startup accelerator designed for CU students, faculty and staff that combines mentorship, funding and a dedicated co-working space

Artimus Robotics was also a recipient of Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT)'s Advanced Industries Accelerator (AIA) Program in 2019, winning $250,000.

Read more for a short Q&A with co-founder and CEO Tim Morrissey, who answered questions about the SBIR Phase I program, upcoming research and how Artimus Robotics contributes to scientific discovery into products with commercial and societal impact.